Will you conquer my heart with your beauty; my soul going out from afar?Shall I fall to your hand as a victim of crafty and cautious shikar?Have I met you and passed you already, unknowing, unthinking and blind?Shall I meet you next session at Simla, O sweetest and best of your kind?Does the P. and O. bear you to meward, or, clad in short frocks in the West, Are you growing the charms that shall capture and torture the heart in my breast?Will you stay in the Plains till September--my passion as warm as the day?Will you bring me to book on the Mountains, or where the thermantidotes PLAY?When the light of your eyes shall make pallid the mean lesser lights I pursue, And the charm of your presence shall lure me from love of the gay "thirteen-two";When the peg and the pig-skin shall please not; when I buy me Calcutta-build clothes;When I quit the Delight of Wild Asses; forswearing the swearing of oaths ;As a deer to the hand of the hunter when I turn 'mid the gibes of my friends;When the days of my freedom are numbered, and the life of the bachelor ends.Ah, Goddess! child, spinster, or widow--as of old on Mars Hill whey they raised To the God that they knew not an altar--so I, a young Pagan, have praised The Goddess I know not nor worship; yet, if half that men tell me be true, You will come in the future, and therefore these verses are written to you.

Ikenga (Igbo literal meaning "place of strength") is a horned Alusi (deity) found among the Igbo people in southeastern Nigeria. It is one of the most popular symbols of the Igbo people, and the most common cultural artifact. Astrologically, Ikenga's governing planet is Mars and its sacred number is 3. Ikenga is mostly maintained, kept or owned by men and occasionally by women of high reputation and integrity in the society. It comprises someone's Chi (personal god), his Ndichie (ancestors), aka Ikenga (right hand), ike (power) as well as spiritual activation through prayer and sacrifice. Ikenga is specially found among the Northern Igbos of Anambra, Enugu, Delta and some parts of Kogi State. However, its not an exclusively Igbo symbol. The various peoples of Southern Nigeria have slightly different notions of the components of an individual personality, but all agree that these various aspects can only be affected through ritual and personal effort. Some variants of it are found in Ijaw, Ishan, Isoko, Urhobo and Edo areas. Among the Isoko people, there are three types of personal shrine images: Oma, which represents the "spirit double" that resides in the other world; Obo which symbolizes the right hand and personal endeavor and the lvri which stands for personal determination. In the Urhobo areas it is also regarded as Ivri and in the Edo areas its called Ikegobo.

My relationship with God recently has become a very interresting one. Like one woman stated last night at the goddess gathering: "I have a very intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, maybe a little bit too intimate." We had diffrent pictures of Mary Magdalene around the altar last night and one of "sexy Jesus" in which he is depicted scantily clad with Mary Magdalene, at his feet.

Mary Magdalene

The theme around our gathering last night was to call Mary Magdalene's energy into our lives, the divine feminine energy and counterpart to Christ. Mary Magdalene is reported to have had a gospel in the Bible until it was removed when civilization switched over to a patriarchal society. Later the texts were re-discovered when the dead sea scrolls were discovered in the early 1900's. The reason for removing Mary from the picture? To create a religion where God is outside of ourselves rather than within. Rather than experiencing our own direct personal relationship with God, we must look outside and direct energy into worshipping something that is seperate from us. Ultimately, it is another form of control.

Mary Magdalene and Jesus are rumored to have been married, which symbolically is the representation of the male and female aspects of creation or God. Mary Magdalene is also said to have been the goddess Isis. When the divine feminine, embodied as Mary Magdalene and the Christ consciousness awaken within in us, that is our true union and connection to the entire cosmos. We become whole and complete in ourselves, connected to all that is.

The awakening of the Goddess divine within each woman, and man directly coincides with the awakeing of our mother earth, Gaia. I have been feeling her pain and last night it washed over me as tears dripped down my face. My body convulsed over and over and I felt that it must be a bit of what mamma earth is going through with her intense purging, cleansing and earth changes.

I feel that my relationship with God is becoming one of deep closeness and intimacy. God has become my most intimate partner, lover, friend. I can really relate to this woman when I feel that God is becoming my lover. God is sexy. Our very nature, as men and women is sensuality, love, intimacy, touch, all qualities given to us by the divine. Sacred love-making and other tantric arts are said to be what Mary Magdalene was a master of rather than the whore or prostitute the new Bible would depict her as. Mary Magdalene was a Dakini, a sacred prostitute and high priestess who helped men experience the divine directly by allowing her body to become a vessel for higher energy. In that sacred union, the connection between heaven and earth is complete.

I am truly honored to have been blessed this Christmas season by the love of Christ within my heart andthe sensual, loving touch of Mary Magdalene over every inch of my body.

May your Christmas be full of warm, comforting, divine love within and without.

"DIKE "WAS THE GREEK GODDESS OF JUSTICE FOR HUMANITY. HER MOTHER,WAS THEMIS, THE GIVER OF SOCIAL ORDER, WAS THE SECOND WIFE OF ZEUS. DIKE WAS ONE OF THE THREE HORAE, OR 'HOURS'. HER SISTERS WERE EUNOMIA (RULER) AND IRENE (PEACE). THEY WERE BEAUTIFUL YOUNG MAIDENS WHO WERE ASSOCIATED WITH FLOWERS AND FRUITS AND ARE OFTEN SHOWN BEDECKING HERA'S CHARIOT WITH GARLANDS OF FLOWERS. THEY WERE ALSO SPRING, SUMMER/AUTUMN, AND WINTER RESPECTIVELY. OF THE THREE, THE ONE WHO LATER BROKE AWAY FROM HER SISTERS AND ESTABLISHED HERSELF SEPARATELY WAS DIKE.

DIKE WAS NOT JUST A BEAUTIFUL FLOWER WEAVING MAIDEN, AND IN HER LATER INCARNATIONS WE FIND HER ALONE, WITHOUT HER SISTERS, SITTING ON A THRONE, BLINDFOLDED WITH A SWORD IN HER HAND. THIS IS THE JUSTICE FIGURE WE ARE MOST FAMILIAR WITH. THIS SIDE OF DIKE IS JUST AS RELEVANT TO OUR LIVES AS THE PRETTY MAIDEN, FOR IT BRINGS US INTO CONTACT WITH THE DANCE OF KARMA. ALL JUSTICE COMES WITH TIME, AND SO WE FIND JUSTICE (DIKE) BOUND UP WITH TIME.

AFTER CENTURIES OF INJUSTICE OF MAN TO MAN, DIKE FINALLY GIVES UP ON HUMANITY AND RETREATS TO THE TOP OF A MOUNT OLYMPUS, SWEARING SHE WOULD NEVER COME DOWN AGAIN UNTIL THERE WAS JUSTICE IN THE WORLD. ACCORDING TO LEGEND, SHE IS STILL THERE, SITTING NEXT TO ZEUS AND WATCHING DOWN ON THE WORLD. AMONG THE GODS AND GODDESSES SHE WAS THE BEST OF ALL THE VIRGINS. SHE THEN, WITH ALL THE OTHER GODS AND GODDESSES, WATCHES DOWN ON ALL OF US.

RASOALAO is the Malagasy Goddess of wild animals and the hunt. She is one of the Vazimba, who are considered the original inhabitants of Madagascar and the ancestors of the Malagasy. The Vazimba were deified by the Malagasy, and are invoked in many situations. Rasoalao's sister is Ravola, Goddess of tame animals, and her husband is the giant Rapeto. Rapeto created Lake Itasy in an attempt to trap Rasoalao's cattle, which he wanted to use to trample his rice fields.

Eris is best known as the goddess of strife. She was known to often follow her brother Ares into battle. She frequently helped him to cause quarrels and lawlessness. Authors say that she helped to cause the Trojan War by tossing her apple of discord into the guests at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. Thress of these guests then competed to win the golden apple.

Eris is the daughter of Zeus and Hera. Her name translates into Latin as Discordia. Her Greek opposite is Harmonia, whose Latin counterpart is Concordia. In addition to her main activity of sowing discord, she frequently accompanies her brother Ares to battles. On these occasions she rides his chariot and brings her son Strife. Eris is unpopular and frequently snubbed as a guest by the other gods and mankind.

IF YOU HAVE EVER SEEN A RAINBOW, THEN YOU HAVE SEEN" AIDA" WEDO", THE WEST AFRICAN "GODDESS OF RAINBOWS" AND THE "SWEET WATERS". HER NAME MEANS LOVE AND UNITY. SHE IS THE WIFE, OR FEMININE ASPECT OF THE GREAT SERPENT, "DANBALA," AND SHE IS RARELY INVOKED WITHOUT HER BELOVED. SHE RULES OVER THE REALM OF NEW LIFE, AND TOGETHER THEY REPRESENT THE PRINCIPLES OF BIRTH AND CREATION. SHE RULES OVER FIRE, WATER, WIND, AND THE RAINBOW. SHE IS ASSOCIATED WITH WISDOM. HER COLORS ARE BLUE AND WHITE. HER DAY IS THURSDAY. THE HERB SACRED TO HER IS THE HYACINTH.

ON A COSMIC LEVEL, IT IS "AIDA WEDO" WHO PROTECTS CREATION, AND ON A PERSONAL LEVEL, HER MARRIAGE SHOWS WHAT A HAPPY MARRIAGE SHOULD BE LIKE. SHE IS CONSIDERED TO BE THE MOTHER OF HAITI, AND REMAINS POPULAR THERE TO THIS DAY. DEVOTEES PRAY TO HER FOR PROSPERITY AND JOY. AN ALTAR FOR THIS GODDESS MAY HAVE DRAWINGS OF RAINBOWS OR OTHER ITEMS THAT REPRESENT THE SKY.

MACHA, OR A SERIES OF HEROINES BEARING THE SAME NAME, IS A FREQUENTLY RECURRING FIGURE IN IRISH LORE. THE NAME "MACHA" MEANS "PASTURE, FIELD, "OR "FIELD "WHICH SUGGESTS HER ROLE AS AN EARTH GODDESS. SHE WAS ALSO THE WAR GODDESS OF IRELAND AND A CHAMPION OF WOMEN; SOME SAY SHE IS ONE ASPECT OF THE TRIPLE DEATH GODDESS, THE MORIGAN. MACHA IS A SEER, ONE WHO FORETELLS THE DEATHS OF WARRIORS IN BATTLE AS WELL AS THE OUTCOMES OF WAR. SHE IS ASSOCIATED WITH BOTH HORSES AND CROWS; THE HOODED CROW IS SAID TO BE ONE OF HER TRANSFORMATIONS. SHE IS COMMONLY SHOWN WASHING BLOODY CLOTHES AT THE RIVER, AND WHEN SHE IS APPROACHED, SHE TELLS THE INQUIRER THAT THE CLOTHES ARE THEIRS. SHE APPEARS AS SEVERAL VERY DISTINCT CHARACTERS IN IRISH MYTH.

WHEN SHE FIRST MAKES HER APPEARANCE ON IRISH SOIL, IT IS AS THE WIFE OF THE HERO, NEMEDH, LEADER OF THE NEMEDIANS. IN THIS, THE FIRST OF HER INCARNATIONS, SHE IS BOTH A PROPHETESS AND A GODDESS OF SOVEREIGNTY. SHE EMBODIES THE SPIRIT OF THE LAND AND FERTILITY, AND IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PASTURES AND THE FIELDS. IT IS SAID THAT HER VISIONS OF THE DEATH AND DESTRUCTION OF HER PEOPLES AND THE COUNTRY WERE SO TERRIFYING THAT SHE DIES OF A BROKEN HEART. HER BURIAL PLACE BEAME KNOWN AS "MACHA'S HEIGHTS..."THE ORIGINAL NAME OF THE CITY WHICH IS NOW CALLED ARMAGH.

Macha reappears as the wife of Nuada of the Silver Hand, one of the great kings of the Tuatha de Danann. The Tuatha Macha was identified as a Goddess of Fertility, War, and of Horses. This is perhaps Her best known incarnation when She is said to be one of the three dark sisters of the Morrigan. She was portrayed as "the red Goddess" for She was always portrayed as being dressed in red or that She had flaming red hair.

Her next appearance is as a beautiful Goddess who was married to a mortal man named Crunnchu, a wealthy farmer in Ulster. One of the first things he noticed about his divine wife was Her amazing speed. She could run a mile to fetch something for him in be back in a mere minute. Even when She became pregnant, and Her belly had swelled, Her speed was unimpeded. Well, one day Crunnchu wanted to go to a festival, and Macha gave him permission to attend, but only if he does not mention Her name. Well, Crunnchu went to the festival and had a bit too much to drink. At this point he began boasting about his wife and how fast She was, that She could probably outrun the king's fastest steed.

AT THIS, THE KING HAD MACHA BROUGHT BEFORE THE FETIVAL AND DEMANDED THAT SHE RACE AGAINST HIS HORSES. SHE PLEADED THAT SHE WAS PREGNANT AND IN NO CONDITION TO RUN, BUT HER PLEAS FELL ON DEAF EARS. THE KING THREATENED TO KILL HER HUSBAND. IT WAS THEN THAT SHE REVEALED HER NAME AND RACED AGAINST THE HORSES. SHE EASILY CROSSED THE FINISH BEFORE THE HORSES AND THEN FELL TO THE GROUND, DELIVERING HER TWIN BABIES RIGHT THERE ON THE DIRT. SH STRUGGLED TO HER FEET WITH A CHILD IN EACH ARM, THEN LAY A CURSE ON THE KING AND ALL OF THE MEN OF ULSTER. THEY WOULD FROM HENCEFORTH ON, FOR A PERIOD OF NINE TIMES NINE GENERATIONS, SUFFER BIRTH PANGS AND MENSTRAL CRAMPS WITH THEIR WOMEN EACH MONTH. AND THEN, SHE VANISHED WITH HER BABIES AND WAS NEVER SEEN AGAIN IN THIS TALE. THE PLACE OF THE RACE WAS NAMED AFTER HER "AS EMAIN MACHA".

THEN IN THE 4TH CENTURY BCE, THERE WAS A GREAT QUEEN KNOWN AS "MACHA OF THE RED HAIR. "IN THIS TALE, SHE WAS THE DAUGHTER OF AED, ONE OF THE THREE KINGS WHO TOOK TURNS RULING. SHE WAS A WARRIOR, A FEARLESS QUEEN CAPABLE OF SUBDUING MULTIPLE RIVALS AND STRIKING TERROR INTO THE HEARS OF MEN. AS THE TALE GOES, WHEN HER FATHER DIED, MACHA TRIED TO TAKE HIS PLACE ON THE THRONE. HER STORY THEN BECOMES ONE OF BOTH INTRIGUE AND FIERCE COMBAT AS SHE HAD TO DEFEAT SEVERAL RIVALS BEFORE SHE COULD COMMAND THE THRONE. AFTERWARDS, THE SONS OF HER RIVALS BUILT THE FORT TEMPLE OF "EMAIN MACHA" WHERE THEY REMAINED IN THE SERVICE OF THE "MIGHTY GODDESS "FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES.

AND TODAY I AM LEAVING YOU ALL WITH A QUESTION TO PONDER. ARE THESE ALL DIFFERENT GODDESSES OR PERHAPS ONE POWERFUL FIGURE WHO APPEARS IN DIFFERENT FORMS AT DIFFERENT TIMES? THIS IS THE GREAT MYSTERY OF MACHA. WHAT DO YOU THINK? I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR YOUR OPINIONS.

Kokopelli is a fertility deity, usually depicted as a humpbacked flute player (often with a huge phallus and feathers or antenna-like protrusions on his head), who has been venerated by some Native American cultures in the Southwestern United States. Like most fertility deities, Kokopelli presides over both childbirth and agriculture. He is also a trickster god and represents the spirit of music.

Her name can also be pronounced as Ama-no-Uzume. Amaterasu's brother, the storm god Susano'o, had vandalized her sacred buildings and brutally killed one of her maidens due to a quarrel between. In turn, Amaterasu became terrified of his wrath and retreated into the Heavenly Rock Cave, Amano-Iwato. The world, without the illumination of the sun, became dark and the gods could not lure Amaterasu out of her hiding place. The clever Uzume overturned a tub near the cave entrance and began a dance on it, tearing off her clothing in front of the other deities. They considered this so comical that they laughed heartily at the sight. Amaterasu heard them, and peered out to see what all the fuss was about. When she opened the cave, she saw her glorious reflection in a mirror which Uzume had placed on a tree, and slowly emerged from her hiding spot. At that moment, the god Ame-no-Tajikarawo-no-mikoto dashed forth and closed the cave behind her, refusing to budge so that she could no longer retreat. Another god tied a magic shirukume rope across the entrance. The deities Ame-no-Koyane-no-mikoto and Ame-no-Futodama-no-mikoto then asked Amaterasu to rejoin the divine. She agreed, and light was restored to the earth. Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto is still worshiped today as a Shinto kami, spirits indigenous to Japan. She is also known as Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto, The Great Persuader, and The Heavenly Alarming Female. She is depicted in kyogen farce as Okame, a woman who revels in her sensuality.

CUBA is the Roman Goddess of sleeping children. Sister of Rumina, Goddess of breastfeeding, and Cunina, Goddess of sleeping infants, Cuba takes over from Cunina as children graduate from cradle to bed. She was prayed to by mothers to help their children get to sleep and to protect them while they slept. Cuba was also invoked by mothers of sick children, to bring healing sleep. Her name means "lying down."

Goddess of Licentiousness. The Aztec goddess Tlazolteotl was also able to bring about epilepsy - or even spare people from it. By penetrating human beings, she could send them into convulsions. On the Tapisserie reproduced here (privately owned), the goddess herself is depicted as a personified epileptic incident: foam and blood-spewing mouth, watering eyes in a red face, twisted and 'clenched' feet.

" CHUANG MU" IS THE CHINESE GODDESS OF THE BEDCHAMBER. SHE OVERSEES ALL ASPECTS OF WHAT GOES ON IN THE BEDROOM...INCLUDING SLEEPING, GIVING BIRTH, DREAMS, RECOVERING FROM ILLNESS, DYING, AS WELL AS PRESIDING OVER SEX, SENSUALITY AND LUST. SHE TEACHES THE PROTOCOL OF LOVEMAKING AND HELPS THE PARTNERS DEVELOP TRUST IN EACH OTHER. SHE IS TRADITIONALLY DRESSED IN RED.

HER AID IS SOUGHT IN ANYTHING HAVING TO DO WITH WHAT GOES ON IN THE BEDROOM, AND THIS IS DONE VIA OFFERINGS AND PRAYERS AT A SMALL ALTER SET UP IN THE HOUSE, OR ONE JUST FOR SHE AND HER HUSBAND IN THE BEDROOM. THERE OFFERINGS OF TEA, FRESH FLOWERS, RICE, OR FRUIT ARE MADE WHILE JOSS STICK ARE BURNED, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME THE BEDROOM IS KEPT CLEAN AND IN PROPER MANNER WITH SHEETS FRESH, AND CHANGED, NO DISCARDED CLOTHING LYING ABOUT ON THE FLOOR; CLUTTER MUST BE KEPT UNDER CONTROL.

THE SUN GODDESS, SAULE, IS THE GREAT GODDESS OF THE BALTIC PEOPLE. HER NAME, SAULE (SOW-LAY) MEANS THE SUN ITSELF. SHE IS QUEEN OF THE HEAVEN AND EARTH AS WELL AS THE MATRIARCH OF THE COSMOS. SHE LOVES ALL PEOPLE AND SHINES ON ALL EQUALLY AND UNCONDITONALLY. IN LATVIA AND LITUANIA, THE WINTER SOLSTICE IS CELEBRATED AS A FEAST IN HER HONOR.

LIKE THE NORDIC GODDESS, FREYA, SAULE IS ASSOCIATED WITH AMBER, AND SHE GUARDS THE CHILDREN AND THE ORPHANS. AMONG THE BALTS, THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE SUN AND WEAVING IS VERY OLD, AND, AS A RESULT, SHE IS ALSO ASSOCIATED WITH HOUSEHOLD CRAFTS SUCH AS WEAVING, SPINNING, AND LAUNDERING. SHE IS ALSO A GODDESS WHO SINGS AND DANCES, ESPECIALLY AT EASTER AND DURING THE SUMMER SOLSTICE.

SAULE DRIVES HER GREAT CHARIOT, PULLED BY TWO WHITE GOLDEN-MANED STEEDS, ACROSS THE HEAVENS; SHE ALSO HAS A CLOSE ASSOCIATION WITH SEA. IT IS SAID THAT, AT THE END OF HER DAILY JOURNEY, SHE SINKS INTO THE SEA TO BATHE AND WASH HER STEEDS. BY NIGHT, LEGEND HAS IT THAT SHE TRAVELS THROUGH THE UNDRWORLD, SHINING IN HER DARK ASPECT. SHE WAS ONCE MARRIED TO MENULIS (THE MOON) BUT DIVORCED HIM WHEN SHE DISCOVERED HIS INFIDELITY WITH ONE OF HER DAUGHTERS.

AND, AS THE DAYS BEGIN TO GROW SHORTER IN THE FALL SEASON, THEY SAY THAT SHE IS WEAKENING IN HER BATTLE AGAINST THE POWERS OF DARKNESS; HENCE, MANY RITUALS AND SPELLS ARE UNDERTAKEN TO AID AND STRENGHTEN HER AT THAT TIME, AS THE BALTS BEGIN AWAITING HER RETURN. THIS PERIOD OF WAITING FOR HER REBIRTH HAS SINCE BECOME THE CHRISTIAN ADVENT. SAULE IS OFTEN PORTRAYED AS A GOLDEN-HAIRED WOMAN, RICHLY DRESSED IN GOLDEN SILK ATTIRE, AND IT IS DURING THIS TIME OF DARKNESS THAT SHE REMINDS US TO CELEBRATE, THAT EVEN IN THE DARKEST OF TIMES WE SHOULD WEAR COLORFUL CLOTHES AND BRIGHT JEWELRY.

"DO YOU ENJOY GETTING UP IN THE MORNING TO WELCOME THE DAWN, WALKING ON THE GRASS BEFORE THE DEW HAS GONE? OR ARE YOU THE PERSON WHO LIKES TO STAY UP AT NIGHT TO HEAR THE OWLS AND WATCH THE STARS SHINING IN THE BLACK VELVET SKY? ARE A DAY PERSON, A SUN PERSON? OR ARE YOU A NIGHT PERSON? "

Recent years have seen the appearence of several 'Necronimica', books from various sources each purporting to be renderings of the dreaded tome itself! They have ranged from Sumerian scribblings to ye writings of Dr. John Dee (now reincarnated as Robert Turner, apparently). Also, following August Derleth's attempt to cohere the Cthulhu Mythos into an identifiable cosmology, several occultists (notably Kenneth Grant) have attempted to work the Great Old Ones into an 'identifiable' system of one kind or another.

While such attempts display the Western occultists' penchant for building up symbolic metastructures, I feel that such systemizations of the Great Old Ones are a misappropriation of Lovecraft's original sense of them. Their very nature is that they are "primal and undimensioned" - they can barely be perceived, and forever 'lurk' at the edges of awareness.

The most powerful energies are those which cannot be clearly apprehended or conceived of. They remain intangible and tenuous. Very like the feeling of awakening from a nightmare terrified, but unable to remember why. Lovecraft understood this very well, probably because most of his writings evolved from his dreams.

The Great Old Ones gain their power from their elusiveness and intangi-bility. Once they are formalised into symbol systems and related to intellectual metasystems, some of their primal intensity is lost. William Burroughs puts it this way:

"As soon as you name something you remove its power... If
you could look Death in the face he would lose his power
to kill you. When you ask Death for his credentials, his
passport is indefinite." - The Place of Dead Roads

Primal Speech

The Great Old Ones can be thought of as primal archetypes of experience, represented in various creation myths as the Giants or Titans. Differing orders of deities throughout history reflect the development of human consciousness - the evolution of a psychocosm. From the zoomorphic animal-human deities of the Pagan Aeon to the Monotheist deity as a reflection of the state's ideal citizen. The Great Old Ones have little, if anything in the way of human attributions; no distinct spheres of influence or human morality. Lovecraft made it very clear that the Great Old Ones have their own purposes, and those that summon them, do so at their peril.

The Great Old Ones are atavisms of the pre-human strata of consciousness, dim perceptions of the era when the primitive 'dragon brain' was the seat of awareness. In his writings, Lovecraft continually alludes to the non-conceptual nature of the Old Ones, and to the primitive methods of summoning them to Earth - blood sacrifice, incense, sexual magick (espec-ially incestuous interbreeding) and Primal, or monstrous speech. All these methods act very powerfully upon the 'reptilian' areas of the brain; the activity of which governs the basic behaviour patterns - sex, hunger and the flight-fight response.

Of particular interest in Lovecraft's mention of primal speech; the kind of glossolalia which can be heard at both Revivalist meetings and Voudou gatherings. When ordered speech is replaced with gibbering, grunting and other non-ordered noises, then patterning, inflection and tone/volume become the means for carrying a message. In ritual, this deliberate 'blocking' of verbal communication with 'static' can be a powerful means of assisting others into a state of possession, during which the body is controlled by 'Nameless' Gods who can only gibber and flail 'their' limbs about - a state somewhat reminiscient of the floppings of lizards, actually Seeing someone in this state brings to mind Lovecraft's description of Azathoth as:

"a blind idiot god... the monstrous Nuclear Chaos."

The value of such an experience is debatable. Full possession by a deity appears to be rare in Western magick, implying as it does, a total disin-hibition which most people seem unwilling to tolerate. These rites of the Nameless Gods serve to hurl the consciousness backwards into a level of awareness where the sense of being an individual 'I' is blurred. Memories of such a state will, of necessity, be at best fractured, or even totally absent, a phenomena not uncommon with possession experiences.

To conclude then, the Great Old Ones can indeed be summoned, but the means of doing so requires an approach which is very different to the established styles of Western magick.

BRIGHT CLOUD WOMAN is the Tsimshian Goddess of salmon. She was married to Raven for a brief time, but when he blamed her for the way a comb that he had made from a salmon backbone tugged at his hair, she left him and took the salmon with her. Bright Cloud Woman had the ability to create salmon just by dipping her fingers into water, and to transform herself into fog. She is also known as SALMON WOMAN and FOG WOMAN, and legends of her are common to many West Coast native traditions.

JURATE (pronounced YOU-rah-the) is the Lithuanian Goddess of the sea. She lived in a beautiful castle made of amber at the bottom of the Baltic Sea. One day, she learned that a fisherman, Kastytis, was catching her fish and taking them out of the sea. She went to his boat, prepared to yell at him, but he was so handsome that she fell in love with him. Jurate went every day to see her young fisherman, until Perkunas, the God of Thunder, found out about her relationship with a mortal. In a jealous rage, he sent a thunderbolt to shatter Jurate's castle, and had Kastytis chained to a rock at the bottom of the sea, where he drowned. To this day, when there is thunder over the Baltic Sea, you can still hear Kastytis' cries, and find pieces of Jurate's broken amber castle along the shore. Her name is also seen as JURATA and JURASMAT.

I probably should have saved her for Earth Day or Mother's Day, but they're so far away! By my count, she has over 50 children, and I know I'm missing some.

GAIA is the Greek Goddess of the Earth, mother to all the Gods. In the beginning, there was only Khaos, the nothingness of space. From Khaos, there appeared Gaia (Goddess of the Earth), Nyx (Goddess of the night), Tartaros (God of the Underworld), Erebos (God of shadows and darkness), and Eros (God of sexual love). Gaia then created Ouranos (God of the sky), Pontos (God of the sea), and Ourea (God of the mountains). With Ouranos, Gaia is the mother of the twelve Titans: Theia (Goddess of sight), Rhea (Goddess of female fertility), Themis (Goddess of divine law), Mnemosyne (Goddess of memory), Phoebe (Goddess of light), Tethys (Goddess of nursing), Okeanos (God of fresh water), Koios (God of intelligence), Krios (God of constellations), Hyperion (God of observation), Iapetos (God of mortality), and Kronos (God of time).

Gaia and Ouranos also created the three Kyklopes and the three Hekatonkheires (each of whom had one hundred arms and fifty heads). Ouranos, ashamed of these monstrous sons, pushed them back into Gaia's womb, causing her much pain. In agony, Gaia gathered her sons together and begged them to help her. The youngest, Kronos, took the sickle that Gaia had made and castrated Ouranos with it. Some of the blood and semen sprayed on to Gaia, and she gave birth to the race of Giants, the Erinyes or Furies, and the Meliae or wood nymphs. Ouranos's testicles were cast into the sea, and from them Aphrodite was born.

Gaia's role as mother to the Gods was still not finished. With other fathers, she gave birth to Antaeus, Keto, Kharybdis, Kreusa, Erikhthonius, Eurybia, Mimas, Nereus, Pheme, Phorkys, Python, Sperkheus, Thaumas, and Typhon. Alternate names for Gaia include GAEA and GE.

There was a girl named Tulsi.She is a very great devotee of Lord Vishnu and performed vigourous tapas for Lord Vishnu.And Lord Vishnu has accepted her as his wife.Tulsi has taken the form of a sacred plant.And even who takes the tulsi thirtham,will get a good character named "Sathvik".This "Sathvik" character obtained by the devotee will achieve much spiritual growth.Lord Vishnu likes Tulsi very much and who ever pray Lord Vishnu with Tulsi leaves will achieve much more goodness from Lord Vishnu.

In Sanskrit, tulanaa naasti athaiva tulasi - that which is incomparable (in its qualities) is the tulasi. For Indians it is one of the most sacred plants. In fact it is known to be the only thing used in worship, which, once used, can be washed and reused in pooja - as it is regarded so self-purifying.

As one story goes, Tulasi was the devoted wife of Shankhachuda, a celestial being. She believed that Lord Krishna tricked her into sinning. So she cursed Him to become a stone (shaaligraama). Seeing her devotion and adhered to righteousness, the Lord blessed her saying that she would become the worshipped plant, tulasi that would adorn His head.

Also that all offerings would be incomplete without the tulasi leaf - hence the worship of tulasi.

She also symbolises Goddess Lakshmi, the consort of Lord Vishnu. Those who wish to be righteous and have a happy family life worship the tulasi.

Tulasi is married to the Lord with all pomp and show as in any wedding.

This is because according to another legend, the Lord blessed her to be His consort. Satyabhama once weighed Lord Krishna against all her legendary wealth. The scales did not balance till a single tulasi leaf was placed along with the wealth on the scale by Rukmini with devotion.

Thus the tulasi played the vital role of demonstrating to the world that even a small object offered with devotion means more to the Lord than all the wealth in the world.

The tulasi leaf has great medicinal value and is used to cure various ailments, including the common cold.

IN ESKIMO MYTHOLOGY, "PINGA", "THE ONE WHO IS UP ON HIGH", IS THE OMNIPRESENT FEMALE SPIRIT WHO WATCHES CAREFULLY OVER MEN' S ACTIONS, ESPECIALLY THEIR TREATMENT OF ANIMALS. SHE PROTECTS ALL LIVING CREATURES AND CONTROLS THE HUNT. SHE IS ALSO THE INUIT GODDESS OF FERTILITY AND HEALING. AMONG THE INLAND "ESKIMO", SHE WAS NAMED "MOTHER OF THE CARIBOU "AND WAS BELIEVED TO DWELL IN HEAVEN.

SHE WAS ALSO THE GUARDIAN OF SOULS FOR SHE RESPONSIBLE FOR BRINGING BODIES OF THE NEWLY-DEAD TO "ANGUTA" FOR TRANSPORT TO" ADLIVUN," THE TRANSIT AREA WHERE SOULS ARE PURIFIED BEFORE MOVING ON.

NEMESIS was the personification of divine justice and the vengeance of the gods, sometimes called the daughter of Night. She represented the righteous anger of the gods against the proud and haughty and against breakers of the law; she distributed good or bad fortune to all mortals. No one could escape her power.

Nemesis has been described as the daughter of Oceanus or Zeus, but according to Hesiod she was a child of Erebus and Nyx. She has also been described as the daughter of Nyx alone. Her cult may have originated at Smyrna.

In some metaphysical mythology, Nemesis produced the egg from which hatched two sets of twins: Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra, and the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux. While many myths indicate Zeus and Leda to be the parents of Helen of Troy, the author of the compilation of myth called Bibliotheke notes the possibility of Nemesis being the mother of Helen; Nemesis, to avoid Zeus, turns into a goose, but he turns into a swan and mates with her. Nemesis in her bird form lays an egg that is discovered in the marshes by a shepherd, who passes the egg to Leda. It is in this way that Leda comes to be the mother of Helen, as she kept the egg in a chest until it hatched.

Invidia (sometimes called Pax-Nemesis) was also worshipped at Rome by victorious generals, and in imperial times was the patroness of gladiators and of the venatores, who fought in the arena with wild beasts, and was one of the tutelary deities of the drilling-ground (Nemesis campestris). Invidia was sometimes, but rarely, seen on imperial coinage, mainly under Claudius and Hadrian. In the 3rd century AD there is evidence of the belief in an all-powerful Nemesis-Fortuna. She was worshipped by a society called Hadrian's freedman. The poet Mesomedes wrote a hymn to Nemesis in the early 2nd century CE, where he addressed her:

and mentioned her "adamantine bridles" that restrain "the frivolous insolences of mortals."

In early times the representations of Nemesis resembled Aphrodite, who herself sometimes bears the epithet Nemesis. Later, as the maiden goddess of proportion and the avenger of crime, she has as attributes a measuring rod (tally stick), a bridle, scales, a sword and a scourge, and rides in a chariot drawn by griffins.

Nemesis is also known to have been called by the name "Adrastia." Ammianus Marcellinus includes her in a digression on Justice following his description of the death of Gallus Caesar.

Nemesis's anger was seen as directed chiefly toward those guilty of arrogance (Hubris), particularly human arrogance towards the gods and their laws. Nemesis pursued the insolent and the wicked with inflexible vengeance. Her cult probably originated from Smyrna. She was described by Greek writers as the daughter of Oceanus or Zeus, but according to Hesiod she was a child of Erebus and Nyx.In English the meaning of the word nemesis has changed somewhat. It now usually means an ultimate or unbeatable enemy, as in the phrase "to meet one's nemesis." The sense of nemesis being a just punishment for hubris has generally been lost.

"ERCE "IS THE ANGLO-SAXON GODDESS OF THE EARTH, THE EARTH MOTHER AND HARVEST GODDESS WHO IS KNOWN AS "EARTH AS LADY. "SHE IS THE FEMALE REPRESENTATION OF THE WHEEL OF THE YEAR...OR SEASONAL CHANGES. SHE IS SYMBOLIZED BY A WOMB OR BY AN OVER-FLOWING HORN OF PLENTY.

IT IS ALMOST AUTUMNM NOW, AND ALMOST TIME FOR ERCE TO EMPTY HER BURLAP BAG FILLED WITH CORN INTO THE WHEELBARROW. THEN, AFTER A QUICK DRINK OVER AT THE WELL IN THE CHRYSANTHEMUM GARDEN, SHE WILL TOSS HER SACK BACK OVER HER SHOULDER AND HEAD OFF INTO THE WHEAT FIELD TO GATHER MORE CROPS. SHE IS WORSHIPPED AS THE TRIPLE GODDESS, AND HER NAME CAN BE CHANTED AS AN INVOCATION TO THE EARTH.

INVITE ERCE TO YOUR HARVEST FESTIVALS, AND ALLOW HER TO LEND HER AID TO EARTH MAGICK.

"ERCE, ERCE, ERCE,"MOTHER OF EARTH,"HAIL TO THEE, ERCE,"MOTHER OF MEN. MOTHER EARTH,"BE FRUITFUL NOW,""FIELDS GROWING AND THRIVING""INCREASING AND STRENGTHENING,""TALL STEMS AND FINE CROPS,""BOTH THE BREAD BARLEY""AND THE FAIR WHEAT,""ANE ALL OF THE CROPS OF THE EARTH.""HALE MAY YOU BE, EARTH, MOTHER OF MORTALS!""GROW PREGNANT IN THE EMBRACE OF GOD,""FILLED WITH FOOD FOR MORTALS' USE."

"MINONA", A POWERFUL SPIRIT OF MAGIC, IS WIDELY KNOWN AS THE WEST AFRICAN PATRON DEITY OF WITCHES. SHE IS THE PROTECTOR OF WOMEN, WITCHES, AND THE HOME, AS WELL AS THE ANCESTORS. SHE DWELLS DEEP IN THE FOREST, TEACHING BENEVOLENT AND PROTECTIVE MAGIC TO THOSE WOMEN WHO VALUE HER KNOWLEDGE. "MINONA" CAN FORESEE THE FUTURE. SHE TAUGHT THE SHAMANS A METHOD OF DIVINATION THROUGH THE USE OF PALM KERNELS. "MINONA," TOO, GIVES POWER TO SORCERERS AND PROTECTS THEM.

Minona became caretaker of women and imparts fertility to women and the earth. In a sense, She is "Mother Earth" herself. She has no temples or public shrines. Instead, women create altars in their homes in Her honor, with offerings of fresh fruits.

Latobius (Mars Latobius Marmocius) is a Gaulish god known from six inscriptions found at two sites in Austria. He seems to be a god of high places of the 'Father of the Tribe' type and was the tutelary deity of the Latobici tribe.

Latobius is a deity known from six inscriptions found at two sites in Austria. These comes from St Paul (CIL III 05097 and 05098; SE 1929, 35 and 38), and Seckau (CIL III 05321) and CIL III 05320, which reads: MARTI LATOBIO MARMOGIO SINATI TOUTATI Mog[ET]IO C VAL [V]ALERINVS EX VOTO (To Mars Latobius Marmogius, Sinatis, Toutatis and Mogetius; Caius Valerius Valerianus ofers this in fulfilment of a vow). This having been found in the temple complex of the site which is on the Frauenberg. It is interestng that Latobius is invoked along with Sinatis, Teutates and Mogetius, all deities of the 'father of the tribe' type and also gods of high places. The image (above, left) ascribed to Mars Latobius was discovered in 1973 in the ruins of the former Roman city of Flavia Solva, sited close to modern-day Leibnitz in Austria. Though the statue appears to be that of a gladiator, he does posess the crested helm and spear (pilum) or fighting staff of Roman Mars as well as the shield resting against his left leg and the gladius sword (which is sometimes replaced by a fighting staff) in his left hand; all attributes of Latobius.

Latobius is a deity associated with the Vendic kingdom of Noricum in the Eastern Alps, which became voluntarily associated with the Roman Empire in 16 BCE. The origin of the Vends is still a matter of contention; however Caesar's writings indicates that they spoke a Celtic language virtually identical to Gaulish. Whether or not the people of Noricum can be considered as 'Gauls' they were speakers of a Celtic language and therefore Celts; thus Latobius was a Celtic deity (for more on Noricum and its origins see the entry on Noreia). A temple dedicated to Latobius was discovered on the site of present-day St Margarethen, Lavamuund, Austria in which was found an altar base bearing the inscription fragment: Latobivs Avgvstvs (To the Great Latobius). A further rather intriguing inscription from this selfsame sanctuary reads: Latobius Sacr[um] C[aius] Speratius Vibus et Valeria Avia pro incolumitate filior[um] suor[um] voto suscepto navale[m aedem] vetustate conlapsum restituer[unt] VSLM (Consecrated to the god Latobius, Caius Speratius Vibus and Valeria Avita, on behalf of the safety of their children, undertake the restoration of this ship temple, decayed with age. Willingly and deservedly they fulfil their vow.) This site also provided the base of a statue dedicated to Mars Latobius which has been reconstructed (above right) based on a further image recovered at Magdalensberg. At the Magdalensberg site a further clay statuette of a boatman (above left) was also uncovered. As the site itself seems to be dedicated to Latobius is has been proposed that this votive offering also represents the deity. This might provide a link to the dedication of Latobius' shrine at St Margarethen as the navale[m aedem] (Naval Sanctuary). Such a dedication seems peculiar in a land-locked realm and it may refer to an aspect of Latobius as the 'ferryman of the dead'.

Latobius was, undoubtedly the tutelary deity of the Latobici, one of the lesser two of the four main Norican tribes and though his assimilation with Roman Mars would indicate that he was a martial deity, it seems likely that he was also held as a tribal protector. This supposition gains some support from the deity's name which has been interpreted as meaning 'He who is most ardent' from the reconstructed proto-Celtic root *l?to- (furour, ardour) and the reconstructed proto Indo-European root *bhad- (best) and his second epithet of Marmocius has been interpreted as meaning 'The Large and Powerful' from reconstructed proto-Celtic roots *maro- (large) and *kom-okti- (power, wealth). Both epithets would indicate that Latobius is a deity of the 'Father of the Tribe' type; both protecting the tribe and supplying them with wealth. The possible role of Latobius as a Charon-like figure need not be incompatible with his role as a martial deity, for a warrior is well-placed to convey the spirits of the dead to the other side. Thus Latobius could have been considered as a protector both in life and in death.

Is she a fairy, hag, vengeful ghost, or something even worse? Nobody seems to know, though legend has it is drowned long ago. Now the very dead and skeletal Jenny hides in ponds. She is covered with moss and water weeds so children, and no doubt some adults never see her lurking at the water's edge.

When her prey is within reach two mossy green skeletal arms shoot out and drag her victim under. They say Jenny does this because she loves children and wants them with her. Her water-logged brain doesn't seem to understand that drowning is horrifying to the victim. Once in her steely grasp none have escaped.

She is the face of death that is very real in weed-chocked or other dangerous ponds. The victim ensnared in the muck or weeds has no chance of getting out if he or she panics. Which is a given if a green mossy skeleton with putrid green hair is smiling at them. Jenny is usually silent preferring to wait for her prey.